The Rushden Echo and Argus, 1^st October, 1943, transcribed by Gill Hollis

Devil Dancing and Jap Bombs
Rushden Man’s Four Years in Ceylon

  Reaching England from Ceylon after four years’ absence was described by Mr. Clifford Sears, of 49, Roberts-street, Rushden, as the happiest event of his life.

  Mr. Sears found himself in difficulties, however, having yet to discover what “Spam” was, or how to use buttons A and B in a ‘phone box.

  A civil servant for the Admiralty, he left England just after the declaration of war and became deputy naval store officer in the dockyards of Trincomalee and Colombo.

  Heavy work and some narrow escapes came his way after Japan had entered the war.  Once, when the sirens sounded, he assumed it was for practice, and went out on the verandah of the waterfront hotel.  It was a real raid, however, with Spitfires and warships’ A.A. batteries in action against the Japs, and he had to dive under a table as bombs fell close by.  He was probably the last civilian aboard the “Cornwall” before it was sunk in 1942.

  He had only three weeks’ leave during the four years, and two 10-day periods were spent at a hill station where there are recuperation camps for troops, with very pleasant country surroundings and golfing facilities.

Strange Festivals

  The ancient ruined cities of Ceylon were interesting places for exploration.  Mr. Sears saw Hindu religious festivals at a temple near Trincomalee, where penitence was carried out in the form of rolling or crawling along a road for four miles.  In what he believed to be devil dancing, a man was pulled to and fro by means of ropes hooked to his back, and worked himself into a frenzy.

  Though agreeing that the island is pretty, Mr. Sears thinks it hardly deserves its title as “the gem of the Indian Ocean.”  It is rather disfigured by lower-class native houses built of rolled-out petrol tins and a thatch made from palm trees.

  There is no real system of rationing for civilians, but rice is a great problem for the natives, and on one occasion there were no potatoes for two months until a fresh supply arrived from India.

Well Met

Mr. Sears met several local “boys” in the Services out there, among them Frank Bishop (whom he met accidentally in the lounge of an hotel), Reg Brown, an ex-police sergeant’s son, Albert Chambers, who was at one time serving on the “Eagle” and Jim White, who was subsequently drowned.  At a Rugby match he met Gerald Ekins, whom he had known at school.

  The return journey was comparatively uneventful, but depth charges were dropped by the escorting vessels, and Mr. Sears learned from Peter Woods, another local boy on one of the ships, that a “probable” had been scored.  The trip took ten weeks, including three at Cape Town, where again he was fortunate in meeting further friends – a family he had met at Sheerness five years previously, and who were now returning from Rhodesia.

  Back in England, and home once again in Rushden, he was struck by the number of air raid shelters that have sprung up.  The absence of young people is noticeable, too.  The rationing here he does not find too bad, and the prices of commodities are not so high as he expected.

  Many interesting souvenirs now repose in the Roberts-street home – elephants of various sizes, dishes, plates, finger bowls, and a cocktail set of painted wood are a few of them.